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2 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. GRATHWOL.

TOBAGGO REFINING VAT.

No. 379,391. Patented Mar. 13, 1888.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. GRATHWOL.

TOBACCO REFINING VAT.

No. 379,391. Patented Mar. 13, 1888.

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ATENT LEOPOLD GBATHWOL, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

TOBACCO-REFlNlNG VAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379,391, dated March 13, 1888.

Application filed March 16, 1887.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD GRA'IHWOL, a resident of the city of Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Refining Vats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, that will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to-the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

My invention relates to improvements in tobacco-refining vats; and it consists of the novel construction and combination of parts, hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

The objects of the invention are fully set forth in connection with the following description:

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side elevation of the vat. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of a vat filled with tobacco, taken on the broken line X X in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the filled vat with the cover removed.

it is well known to those skilled in the preparation of leaf -tobacco for use in the manufacture of cigars that the natural leaf contains a germ deposit, the presence of which not only acts to retard the combustion of cigars but gives the cigar a very unpleasant fiavor. To remove this deposit it has been the practice heretofore to subject the tobacco while in the leaf to what is known as the sweating process, during which the moistened leaves are permitted to lie in heaps for several days to dissolve the gum. This process involves considerable delay and space for sweatingrooms and necessitates carrying a large stock of tobacco. The individual leaves and bunches of leaves in a given quantity of tobacco being thus treated are differently acted upon according to their location in the heap, which renders it impossible to manufacture a uniform product.

In treating the leaf-tobacco to remove the Serial No. 231,086. (No model.)

germs, I make use of a tank or vat, A, supported by the legs B and provided with a cover, 0. Secured to the bottom of the vat is a shallow water reservoir or boiler, D, eX- tending over the greater part of the surface of the vat-bottom. The boiler is provided with ducts a, in any desired number, leading from the interior of the boiler exteriorly to the atmosphere at points above the top of the boiler.

The method of operation is as follows: The boiler is filled with water, which can be introduced through any one or more of the ducts a and be maintained at a uniform temperature of about 212, or the temperature of boiling water. Any excess of temperature is carried off in the steam, which finds a free exit through the ducts a to the atmosphere or other condensing medium. The bunches of tobacco having been first moistened 0r soaked in water are inserted in the vat with the stems down, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The cover C may then be put on, heat maintained under the boiler, and the tobacco allowed to cook for a short time until the gum is dissolved and runs down the stems to the bottom of the vat.

The entire operation after the water is heated only occupies about half an hour.

When desired, a (lamp cloth or other absorbent, H, can be laid upon the bottom of the vat before the tobacco is inserted to absorb the gum and prevent its accumulation upon the bottom of the vat.

To prevent the sides or vertical walls of the vat from becoming overheated, I surround them exteriorly near the bottom of the vat with a water-reservoir, E, having an inlet, 1), and an outlet, (1. This reservoir is filled with cool water, as desired, to prevent overheating the walls of the vat from conduction. The water can be renewed at intervals, as desired, or a constant flow can be maintained in at b and out at d, or vice versa.

The vat may be provided with handles A for convenience of transportation.

The boiler may have a faucet, F, for drawing the water therefrom.

instead of the lampG any of the well-known means of heating may be employed.

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What I claim as new and desire to secure In testimony whereof I have hereunto set by Letters Patent, is

my hand this 7th day of March, 1887. In a tobacco-refining vat, the combination of a steam-tight tank, a subjacent open boiler, LEOPOLD GRATHWOL' 5 and a cold water reservoir, the latter sur- Witnesses:

rounding the tank near its lower end substan- GEO. A. MosHER,

tially as shown and described. 1 \V. H. HOLLISTER, Jr. 

